Rockin' the Mistletoe, various artists (Side B Music)

I don't want to be unkind and call the title a misnomer, but this 2010 collection of mostly original pop Christmas songs is more adult contemporary than rock. I don't know if this is deliberate, but there are many connections to the Beach Boys on this collection. "Getting Ready For Christmas" is a ballad featuring Scott Bennett, he of Brian Wilson's band and the recent 50th anniversary Beach Boys tour. "New Year's Eve" is by Taylor Mills, also a Brian Wilson band alumna. Probyn Gregory, Wondermint and co-conspirator on the revival of Brian Wilson's Smile, plays French horn on "One (My Christmas Wish)" by Stephen J. Kalinich, a fairly lugubrious spoken word performance. "Christmas Isn't Christmas" by Chris English has a faint resemblance to the Boys circa the mid-1970s, while we get pretty straight homages to Hawthorne's finest in "Christmas Bunny" by Alan Boyd, Brian Battles with "Christmas in California," "Christmas With You" by Richard Snow & the In-Laws, Laurie Biagini's "Christmas In the Air," Rob Bonfiglio's "Warm, Lovin Christmastime" (this one sounding more like Dennis Wilson), and "Let's Make Every Day Like Christmas" by Jez Graham. Several other cuts break the pattern, with the best of those being The Zummos' "There Won't Be a Christmas Without You," a track with a modern R'nB sound, and "What If," a semi-electronica-pop performance by Nicola. Beach Boys completists probably won't be disappointed, but the collection doesn't really support its title. Remember what I've written more than once on this site, "What once was rock 'n roll now is adult contemporary." Nevertheless, folks looking for new original Christmas songs will get their money's worth, as the songwriting here is a reasonably good collective effort.

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